Thai regulators announced Thursday, August 16, that they have so far approved seven business entities to conduct cryptocurrency operations as part of the formalization of the country’s domestic market.

The move forms part of a package of “transitional” rules governing crypto businesses operating in Thailand prior to the first tranche of regulations that came into force May 14.

1pm UPDATE: Monero is the coin of choice for miners

Paolo Passeri, Global Solutions Architect, Netskope says: “New academic research from Aachen University has revealed that CoinHive, an embedded cryptocurrency miner, is generating $250,000 in Monero cryptocurrency every month. But this wasn’t the only finding, the research also revealed just ten individuals benefitted from the mining within the region of 80 percent of the generated currency going to them. The Monero currency is the coin of choice for miners for a string of reasons: it offers better privacy, and its CryptoNight algorithm design is conducive to running well on consumer-grade CPUs.”

“As mining schemes continue to be effective there is little standing in the way of those making major profits. The research highlights that public lists used to detect miners, NoCoin being an example, are actually highly ineffective, with 82% of the researchers’ test samples slipping by undetected. Oversights in these kinds of tech means that the most effective method of stopping miners is to block the execution of code with plugins. An example of which would be NoScript.”

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11.07am UPDATE: Ripple wants to target China

Ripple wants to target the Chinese market with its distributed ledger technology designed to speed up cross-border payments, an executive at the firm told CNBC.

“China is definitely of interest, it is definitely a target,” Jeremy Light, vice president of European Union strategic accounts at Ripple, told CNBC in a phone interview. “China is definitely a country and region of interest.”

Earlier this year, the blockchain companystruck a dealwith Hong Kong-based financial services firm LianLian International, aimed at powering the latter’s cross-border transactions between China, the U.S. and Europe. It is not clear whether Ripple’s technology is being deployed by LianLian yet.

10.20am UPDATE: Blockchain company enters US gaming market

Online Blockchain PLC, a UK Blockchain company, has announced it will take a 35 percent stake in gaming team Encryptic Gaming Inc.

Online Blockchain will be investing up to US$100k in cash, over a period of time-based upon development milestones being reached by Encryptid Gaming Inc.

The investment will help Encryptic Gaming develop new crypto-gaming systems.

The first game is Cybernetika, a futuristic world with roving robot-like creatures that can be trained, upgraded and put into tournament-style battles.

Bitcoin slipped back into making a loss (Image: GETTY)

9.15am UPDATE: Bitcoin still finding its feet

Mr Murcko said: “The market is experiencing a readjustment as it tries to find the ‘true or underlying value’ of each crypto asset. For instance, there have been a number of studies examining the cost to mine a single Bitcoin, with $6,000 being the mean.

“Large mining operations will not sell below their cost to produce, which over time creates a true value or ultimate low in the market. Until there are other proven values attached to a specific asset, the low resistance point will revolve around this cost of production. Current BTC price, which is floating around that $6,000 mark [currently $6,350], is a reflection of all of this.

“Besides the hard cost of mining, there are plenty of other market influencers. Use cases can drive adoption, which in turn increases demand, transactions, cost to mine, and ultimately leads to higher prices. You will also have outside circumstances, like the bull run of 2017, that propel prices outside of this market-induced range.

“This is common across all markets, such as when a stock price doesn’t accurately reflect earnings, or the dot-com bubble, when stocks with negative balance sheets traded at extreme valuation levels.”

7.40am UPDATE: Is bitcoin too unreliable to predict?

He said: “I don’t think anyone can give a reliable forecast on bitcoin today. As seen in the past, immense fluctuations were suddenly caused by cybercriminals, governments, andalternativecryptocurrencies.

“Despite a current semblance of relative stability, bitcoin being a puppet of market speculators and cyber gangs means it can abruptly drop or skyrocket.

“You can make a lot of money speculating with bitcoin these days, but be prepared for the associated risk of losing all of your gains.”

Bitcoin is back in the red today, as the market drops in price (Image: CoinMarketCap)

7amUPDATE: USA investors can now buy bitcoin exchange-traded notes

Starting today, investors in the USA can buy a bitcoin exchange-traded note (ETN) through their online broker, bank or advisor.

Although the CoinShares product is listed and regulated in Sweden, the note Bitcoin Tracker One (CXBTF) is now listed in US dollars.

The offering gives investors who may be concerned about a direct investment in bitcoin a way to get into the market.

“Everyone that’s investing in dollars can now get exposure to these products, whereas before, they were only available in euros or Swedish krona,” Ryan Radloff, CEO of CoinShares Holdings Ltd., told Bloomberg.

“Given the current climate on the regulatory front in the US, this is a big win for bitcoin.”